The Oklahoma Drought Commission met in Oklahoma City on Thursday, and Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with state climatologist Gary McManus for an update on the drought conditions in Oklahoma.

According to McManus, things are looking dire for the western part of the state and into North Central Oklahoma, neither of which have received a quarter inch of rain in more than 100 days. It appears that the relief provided in early November has dried up.

“In just the last week, we have nearly tripled the amount of drought in Oklahoma,” McManus said. “It is still only eighteen percent, but that is a significant growth from what we had last week – about seven percent.”

Since August 2021, McManus has observed a series of flash droughts that have kept an ongoing drought status for the state despite occasional and unusually intense rainfall events.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau works to improve the lives of all Oklahomans by supporting our state’s agriculture community. As Oklahoma’s largest general farm organization led by Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, OKFB takes grassroots values and advocates for agriculture at the state Capitol and in Washington, D.C., to ensure our way of life continues for generations to come.

Farm Bureau hosts leadership events, supports our state’s agricultural youth and connects consumers with agriculture in order to build a brighter future for our state. Become an OKFB member today online at okfarmbureau.org/join. Together, we are rural Oklahoma.

Commodity Classic attendees heard from the new USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, on Sunday afternoon- and she unveiled the plan by the new administration to get the ten billion dollars of direct assistance to farmers passed in the lame duck session of Congress this past December out this month. Rollins says USDA will beat the deadline set to distribute funds (90 days after passed). She expects movement in the next few weeks.

USDA will call it the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) $30 billion total. $10 billion in direct payments to farmers.

For farmers – if data is on file, they will receive pre-filled out forms to sign. Those without data can fill out data manually with FSA.



In her speech to the Classic- Rollins also announced that USDA has finished their review of the Conservation funding under the Inflation Relief Act and is releasing funds for Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) the Conservation Stewardship Program, (CSP), and the agriculture conservation easement program

NCBA President Buck Wehrbein Addresses Congress about Beef Industry Challenges

Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman, recently ascended to the role of NCBA president during CattleCon 2025. Wehrbein, with a 45-year career in the cattle feeding sector, brings decades of dedication to the industry and leadership experience to NCBA’s top leadership post, which served him well when he testified at the “Perspective from the Field Part 2” meeting on Capitol Hill this week.

Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays features comments from Wehrbein’s testimony in today’s BeefBuzz.

After briefly introducing himself and NCBA, Wehrbein spoke on behalf of NCBA’s nationwide membership. He said, “Overall, I am pleased to report that the state of the cattle industry is strong. Strong cattle prices and beef demand have made the marketing environment for cattle better than virtually any time in the last five years. It is worth noting that these market improvements have occurred without any new legislation or regulation aimed at the cattle markets.”

Detailed that while there is reason for optimism, the continually rising cost of feed, fuel, and other essentials still pose a challenge for producers. He expressed hope that the new Trump administration would help mitigate those challenges.

Class XXI is back on US soil after almost two weeks in Africa.

This past Friday morning, the OALP visited Interplant Agriculture, established in 2021 as the preferred distributor for Barenbrug in Kenya and surroundings. Barenbrug is one of the leading innovators of regenerative agriculture, reshaping conventional farming methods using diverse, mixed species cover crops to generate multiple benefits such as soil enrichment, fertility, carbon sequestration, increased diversity of soil microbes, better water management, reduced weed pressure, pests, and diseases, improved biodiversity, and regenerative soils.

The final agricultural tour for the OALP in Kenya was to Plantech Kenya – a seedling nursery propagating a wide selection of products – vegetables, herbs, cut flowers, and a range of cuttings for growers of all sizes. They have been in business for nine years and now have 15 hectares of nurseries with 700 employees.

As Class XXI has wrapped up travel across Kenya- the application for Class XXII is now available on line at the OALP website. Click here for that application– which is due by May first, 2025. In person interviews will happen in June and the XXII will meet for the first time in August of this year.

At the AFR Convention, Coy Davidson, a rising star in Oklahoma’s agricultural scene, shared his FFA journey with Farm Director KC Sheperd. A senior at Elgin High School and a member of the AFR Youth Council, Davidson’s story is one of dedication, passion, and a commitment to serving the agricultural community.

“I hold this really near to my heart,” Davidson explained, reflecting on his involvement with the American Farmers and Ranchers (AFR) organization. “Ever since I think it was sixth grade, I’ve been at the AFR youth summit every single year, speaking at AFR speech competitions and just about everything I can do through AFR.”

Davidson’s connection to public speaking began in fifth grade after moving to Elgin. “I was approached by the ag teacher there at the time to give an AFR speech, and I never thought I’d be where I am today,” he said. This initial spark ignited a passion that led him to excel in FFA speech competitions. “I found my passion through the AFR, and then as soon as I joined my first ag class, I knew that’s what I wanted to do through the FFA,” he recounted.

His dedication culminated in remarkable achievements. “Over the past couple of years, my goal was to win the state speech competition. I finally accomplished that my junior year last year, and then this past October, I was able to represent Oklahoma at the national FFA speech competition and actually won the national championship for prepared public speaking,” Davidson proudly stated. That is something that I’ll always hold close to my heart.”

Following the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of new measures to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), elected leaders and industry stakeholders from around the country are applauding the five-pronged strategy.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins joined FOX News to outline the Department’s strategy to strengthen biosecurity, support farmers, and ensure affordable food prices for American families.

Secretary Rollins also outlined her strategy in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and spoke with media about the plan following President Trump’s first Cabinet Meeting of this term.

Agriculture and Government Leaders Applaud USDA’s Plan to Address Avian Flu.

Breaking News- BOI Has Been Kicked to the Curb- Trump Administration Will Not Enforce

The Treasury Department announced Sunday that, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act, not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadline.

“This is a victory for common sense,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Today’s action is part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”



Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses and ensuring that the rule is appropriately tailored to advance the public interest. The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.